NFL must take action to protect players from themselves

League must do the right thing after Tua Tagovailoa suffered another scary concussion in primetime

The Los Angeles Rams are set to face the Dolphins in Week 10, yet Miami could be without one of their best players for that matchup. On Thursday, Pro Bowl quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered the third diagnosed concussion of his five-year NFL career. The result was another jolting reminder that the players underneath the pads you see on TV are in fact human beings. Odd I know.

Following the game, several former players chimed in to comment on the QB’s unfortunate situation. Tony Gonzalez, Dez Bryant, Shannon Sharpe, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth were among the crowd calling on Tua to consider retiring. Even Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce had this to say during his September 13 press conference:

All these calls to action are great and all, but they don’t mean a damn thing considering the decision is all Tagovailoa’s. However, this is when the NFL must step in and for once, do the right thing to protect players from themselves.

If the league is indeed about player safety, this is the only right move to make. Critics would argue that this would take the decision out of the hands of its star players and that is precisely the point. Some players just can’t help themselves which leaves their families fearing for their safety each and every week they take the field.

The problem is that too many of these young players have taken their position playing professional football for granted. They believe they are indestructible and their actions won’t have consequences when they get older. That short-sightedness is ignorant and in some cases, deadly if they’re not careful. Of course why would the NFL care about anything of that nature as it’s benefiting off all the players it employs.

Tagovailoa is 26 and theoretically, in the middle of his prime. Plus he signed a $212 million extension back in July, so that will obviously make it tough for him to walk away. None of that money will matter in the long run assuming Tagovailoa is not mentally competent enough to enjoy it later in life.

Now, I’ve never played football, so I will never understand the relentless drive to compete which defines athletes like Tua. Nor will I ever understand what is must feel like to be called on to abandon a dream profession you’re spent your entire life working toward. What I do understand is that Tagovailoa must make the most difficult and defining decision of his life—choosing between being the quarterback of the Dolphins or the quarterback of his family.

Not that I want to be in the business of telling others what they should or shouldn’t do with their bodies—that’s what our jackass politicians think they’re for—this is a no-brainer for the NFL. I know there’s no way in hell they would ever make such a decision, but it would be a bold decision for a league that frequently puts the safety of its players on the backburner.